Guy O’Sullivan, the veteran reality TV executive who was working to bring the “Great British Bake-Off” to Canada, died over the weekend. He was 49.
O’Sullivan was the founder and president of Proper Television, a Canadian production house that specialized in reality and documentary programming. The company shared news of his passing on its website Monday.
A cause of death has not been confirmed.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news of the sudden passing of Guy O’Sullivan, President, Proper Television,” the post stated. “Guy had a tremendous impact in the Canadian and international television industry, and was adored by his colleagues and staff.”
A spokesperson told C21media that he passed away suddenly and, out of respect for the family, no further comments will be made at this time.
British-born O’Sullivan originally worked in the U.K. as a journalist before moving into television, kickstarting projects as a producer and director for the BBC.
He moved to Canada to launch Proper in 2004, where he helped to launch Canadian versions of other successful reality shows like “Storage Wars Canada,” “Come Dine with Me Canada,” and “Canada’s Worst Driver,” which was a version of a show he spearheaded in the U.K. called “Britain’s Worst Driver.”
O’Sullivan was a three-time Canadian Screen Award nominee and a two-time Gemini Award nominee for his work on shows such as “Canada’s Worst Driver” and “MasterChef Canada.”
Proper TV emphasized that it’ll be business as usual at the company, and any projects will move forward as planned.